1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to transport vehicles. More particularly, the invention concerns flat bed vehicular transport trucks of the character having removable side panels or gates that permit unrestricted side loading thereof.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Various types of truck trailers and truck beds for carrying a wide variety of loads are commonly in use. A quite common type of truck trailer is the so-called stake bed truck that provides a flat cargo area with no roof or permanently affixed sidewalls. These types of vehicles are typically used to carry heavy loads, generally of the character that can be loaded with a crane or fork lift truck.
To enable easy loading of the prior art flat bed trucks and trailers, the truck bed is often equipped with longitudinally spaced-apart, insertable side panels, or gates, that can be removed during loading and then reinstalled after loading to secure the load in place on the bed of the truck. Typically, the prior art gates are constructed from at least two vertically extending stakes that are telescopically receivable within longitudinally spaced-apart pockets provided along the sides of the truck bed. The vertical stakes are usually connected together by vertically spaced-apart wooden or metal slats that are typically about 4 to 6 feet long. As a general rule, the prior art gates vary in height between 12 and 96 inches and can weight up to 100 pounds or more.
The lifting, removing, and reinstalling of gates along the sides of the truck body is quite cumbersome and time-consuming and if incorrectly done, can cause serious injury. Accordingly, various other types of modified side gate constructions have been suggested in the past. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,544 discloses a semi-truck trailer having sidewalls formed by a plurality of hinged side-panels over which a tarpaulin can be tied. The side panels are hinged together so that each entire sidewall can be folded into the front portion of the trailer, thereby permitting use of the trailer as a flat bed. However, once the sidewalls are folded proximate with the forward end of the trailer and the load is positioned on the trailer bed, the walls cannot be repositioned along the sides of the truck bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,843 issued to Elliott describes a side loading trailer body having front, back, and sidewalls, a roof and a platform enclosing the interior of the trailer body. The side walls are formed by hingedly connected, side opening doors each of which, when opened, exposes the interior along the entire side of the body for loading purposes. The roof may be raised as required a predetermined distance above the walls. When the side doors have been opened and the roof raised, cargo loading and unloading can be accomplished using a conventional forklift type vehicle.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and novel side gate assembly for use with flatbed article transport vehicles of the character having longitudinally spaced apart stake receiving pockets disposed along the sides of the bed. The novel side gate assembly of the invention comprises a plurality of hingedly interconnected gates that can be easily moved from a securely locked position on the truck bed into a folded position so as to permit the vehicle to be loaded from the side, as for example, using a conventional forklift truck.
Another object of the invention is to provide a side gate assembly of the aforementioned character that can be used with conventional flatbed article transport vehicles without the requirement of substantial modification to the vehicles.
Another object of the invention is to provide a side gate assembly as described in the preceding paragraphs, that is easy to use, requires no lifting of the side gate sections so that the side gate assemblies can be easily operated by one workman with minimum training.
Another object of the invention is to provide a side gate assembly for use with flatbed article transport vehicles of various lengths, which includes side gate assemblies that comprise either double or triple hingedly interconnected gate subassemblies.
Another object of the invention is to provide a side gate assembly of the character described which includes a novel, easy-to-use locking means for releasably locking the assembly securely in position along the sides of the transport vehicle.
Another object of the invention is to provide a side gate assembly as described in the preceding paragraphs in which at least one of the side gate assemblies includes first and second slidably interconnected sections.
Another object of the invention is to provide a side gate assembly usable with flatbed article transport vehicles that is of a simple construction, and one which can be manufactured and assembled relatively inexpensively.